Flesh Without Blood was entirely directed, edited and coloured by Grimes herself. On top of this she not only wrote and sings Flesh Without Blood, but produced the song herself as well. This is one of the main reasons why Grimes is one of my favourite artists, because she literally is an artist in all aspects of the word. As discussed by Railton and Watson, the music industry is full of sexism and women still struggle to be taken seriously within it. Grimes is overly aware of how female artists are depicted in the music industry and this is a driving force behind her creating everything herself.

What makes this video clip extra unique is that it actually encompasses two songs within it. The first track and first half of the clip is ‘Flesh Without Blood’ and the second track and second half of the clip is a song called ‘Life In The vivid Dream’. Both songs entirely juxtapose one another but fit extremely well within this doll-like, somber fairytale world that has been created in the video. In an interview, Grimes outlines how she chose to incorporate these two songs into the one clip to accentuate the fact that every song on her latest album are entirely different from one another. So the making of this clip was a somewhat strategic move on her part. The best part about this clip is that it provides so many different genres and styles which is exactly what Grimes new album offers. This was released as a teaser for her new album ‘Art Angels’, so it makes perfect sense that the clip reflects the structure of this new album.

The clip essentially showcases a series of Grimes’ alter egos who are even listed in the credits at the end. We see her dressed as a cowboy angel, an Edwardian dutchess, a Michael Jackson-type swinger girl and a hipster gamer playing video games in her dungeon. The overall vibe is a Mary Antoinette meets gothic fantasy type aesthetic and it’s beautifully mesmerizing to watch. Everything from the colours of the costumes and the sets to Grimes’ dance moves to the captivating shots of her dressed as a bloodied fallen angel perched on a branch all meet together to create a real work of art.

The clip was shot in Vancouver over numerous locations which is also the hometown of Grimes. She enlisted the help of her brother to help her film the clip and act as assistant cinematographer. It’s interesting to see that in some shots, you can actually see cars and trucks passing by on a nearby highway, especially during the tennis courts scenes. Usually this kind of thing would break the world that had been created within the video clip, but in this instance, I think it actually enhances it. In the clip, we are offered various different types of styles and genres and see a mash-up of eras, so the cars almost serve in creating a new world where all these eras and genres co-exist together. In comparison to her previous clips, this one is quite extravagant and steers away from the simple ‘girl sings to camera in one outfit’ type that we would usually expect from her. The clip reads like a short film. It screens a title, a first act and a second act (which is something usually only seen in plays) and features credits at the end making it not your typical type of video clip. For me, the clip is actually quite reminiscent of Baz Lurhmann’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ due to it’s eccentricity, extravagance and playfulness.